Pharmaceutical apparatus



p 1938. H. LEFFER'IA ET A1. 2,131,516

PHARMACEUTICAL APPARATUS Filed Jan. 51, 1956 1N VENTOR5 HERMAN LEFFE'RT"M ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 27, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APHARMACEUTICAL APPARATUS Herman Lefiert and Edward E.

land, Ohio, assignors,

'10 Claims. This invention relates to a food into the patient.

We have found that rate of flow.

An object of our invention, vide an apparatus, which will level of thematerial in a reservoir; A device which has been used for rectal feedingthereof. Consequently there is no danger of discharging an excessivequantity into the patient at any time. i

A further advantage of our apparatus is the fact that it material to bemixed with water or other liquid that is used to create the suction. Inour apparatus, the extracted material can be collected in harmaceuticalCompany, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application January 31, 1936,Serial No.

Woldman, Cleveby mesne assignments, to Inc., New York,

trating the operation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2 for withdrawinggas from the stomach of a patient.

bed and above the level of the In such illustration, the

ing short of the bottom thereof.

An intermediate, or air flask I4 is disposed beside the medicine flaskand is connected thereto by a tube l5. The ends of the tube I5 terminatewhich enters 2|, a valve 22 of flow.

At the start medicine is placed in through a tube being used for 20 froma reservoir controlling the rate It. By adjusting the valve 22 anydesired number of drops per minute will enter 56 connection is notnecessary the flask l4, and the corresponding volume of liquid will bedispensed from the flask l3. If desired, the discharge tube may betemporarily disconnected from the stomach tube during the syphoningaction, so as to prevent the flow of an excess quantity of medicine intothe patient, but as soon as the medicine flows at the same rate at whichwater enters the flask I4, the discharge tube is connected to thestomach tube. Such disin all cases, for it medicine used is not harmful,the delivery of an excess quantity for a very short period of time Iwill not be objectionable.

As soon as the level of medicine in the flask l3 drops below theentrance in the discharge tube, then the valve 22 is closed, thereservoir 2| and the flask l3 are refllled and the flask I4 is emptied.Ordinarily, the flask l3 holds a sufiicient quantity of medicine forpermitting medication for a period of twenty-four hours.

To minimize the number of connections and thereby to avoid thepossibility of air leakage into the vacuum line, and at the same time toeliminate the necessity of utilizing a fluid under pressure to start theflow of material into the dispensing tube, we have shown a modificationof our invention which is illustrated in Fig. 2. In such modification,the material to be dispensed is placed in a container 30 which has adischarge tube 3| leading from the bottom thereof.

A valve 23 in the discharge tube prevents the flow of material therefromuntil the apparatus is in condition for operation. The flask 30 has astopper 25 into which a tube 32 extends. The flask end of the tubeterminates above the level of the material-in the flask while theopposite end of the tube is in communication with an air tight chamber33. The chamber or compartment 33 may be formed within a container 34which has another compartment 35 in which water or other liquid can beheld. A gas and liquid tight partition 36 separates the twocompartments. The container 34 is illustrated as supporting a container31 which is likewise adapted to hold water, and which is provided with adischarge opening 38 in the bottom thereof. A float controlled valve 40is carried by the container 31, and is adapted to control the flow ofwater through the opening 38 from the tank 31 into the tank 34, theadjustment being such that the level in the tank 34 is maintained at thesame position at all times.

At the start of the operation, the compartment 33 is empty, and thevalve 4| in the drain conduit 42 is closed. Accordingly, as soon as thestomach tube is connected to the discharge tube 3|, the valve 23 isopened, and the material in the flask 30 starts to flow and to rarifythe air in the compartment 33. As soon as the air is rarifled to thepoint where it will support the head of material in the flask, the flowceases, and thereafter, it is allowed to continue only in accordancewith the rate at which air in the compartment 33 is displaced. Suchdisplacement occurs by allowing water to flow from the compartment 35into the compartment 33 through a by-pass 45 that is controlled by avalve 46. A portion of the by-pass comprises a glass tube by means ofwhich the number of drops per minute can be observed. The rate of flowfrom the compartment 35 to the compartment 33 is therefore, theidentical rate at which material is allowed to flow from the flask 30.

As soon as liquid flows from the compartment 35, the float controlledvalve 40 allows the same -empty and the a larger quantity of liquid thanthe flask 30 so that there is ample liquid in reserve to assure adischarge of the entire contents of the flask.

There is a slight difference in the operation of the apparatusillustrated in Fig. 1 from that illustrated in Fig. 2 in that nosyphoning action in the apparatus of Fig. 2 occurs at the time thedispensing operation is initiated. Furthermore, there are lessconnections in which air leaks may occur.

While we have explained our invention in connection with stomachmedication, it is apparent that the apparatus may be used for rectalfeeding, in which case the stomach tube is replaced by a rectal tube.The apparatus is likewise well adapted for use as a suction pump toremove gas' and liquid material from the stomach in postoperativetreatment. To use the apparatus for the latter purpose, it is onlynecessary to connect it as shown in Fig. 3 and to have the flask 30compartment 33 fllled with water. The valve 46 is closed, the valve 32is fully opened, and then the valve 4| is adjusted so as to allow liquidto drain from the compartment 33 at the desired rate. As the level ofliquid in the compartment 33 drops, gas or liquid contents are drawninto the flask 30 to replace the liquid which is drained from thecompartment 33.

While we have shown in each modification an apparatus wherein a partialvacuum is utilized for restraining the rate of flow, and haveillustrated apparatus by means of which the volume of air in thereservoir space above the liquid is automatically varied so as to assurea continuous flow at a uniform rate, nevertheless we may, if desired,eliminate the water reservoir, as well as 4 the intermediate compartmentinto which the water is allowed to drip, and vent the vacuum space bymeans of the valve 46. The valve may be adjusted so as to bleed into thevacuum space a very small quantity of air which acts as a vent to allowthe liquid to flow out of the container. The valve may be opened to anydesired degree so as to regulate the rate of flow.

An important advantage of our invention is the fact that material may beintroduced into a 5 patient automatically at a constant predeterminedrate. This is valuable in the treatment of stomach ulcers, as it permitsmedication without interfering with the normal introduction of foodthrough the oral cavity. The apparatus is quite simple in arrangementand compact in size and is capable of being readily cleaned andsterilized for repeated use.

We claim:

1. In combination, a container for storing material in liquid form, adischarge conduit leading therefrom, a vacuum chamber in communicationwith the container above the level of liquid therein, means forintroducing a liquid into the chamber to displace the space occupied bya quantity of air therein, and a valve for controlling the rate of flowinto the chamber whereby liquid from the container will beproportionately released.

2. In combination, a container for liquid, 9. 7.

discharge time leading therefrom, a valve for controlling the flowthrough the discharge tube, a vacuum chamber, a tube connecting thevacuum chamber to the space above the liquid in the container, a liquidreservoir, a conduit connecting the reservoir to the vacuum chamber sothat liquid may flow from the reservoir into the chamber to displace thespace occupied by the air therein, and a valve for controlling the rateof flow in the last named conduit whereby liquid from the container willbe proportionately released.

3. In appar-atus of the character described, comprising in combination,a container for liquid material, a discharge conduit leading therefrom,a vacuum chamber in communication with the space above liquid in thecontainer, a reservoir, the chamber being adapted to receive a liquidfrom the reservoir to displace the space occupied by the air thereinsaid chamber having a capacity greater than the material in thecontainer, and means for controlling the rate of flowof liquid into thechamber whereby liquid from the container will be proportionatelyreleased.

4. An apparatus of the character described, comprising in combination, acontainer for material that is to be dispensed, a discharge conduitleading from the container near the bottom thereof, a receptacle, areservoir positioned thereabove and adapted to hold liquid, thereservoir having an opening through which liquid may flow into thereceptacle, a float controlled valve for regulating the flow from thereservoir into the receptacle so as to maintain a uniform level ofliquid at all times in the receptacle, an air chamber at a lower levelthan the receptacle, there being a passageway for liquid to flow fromthe receptacle to the chamber, a valve for controlling the last namedflow, and means for providing communication between the air chamber andthe space in the container above the liquid.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination of acontainer for holding liquid, a discharge conduit leading from thecontainer so that liquid may flow by gravity therefrom, means forcontrolling the rate of flow, said means comprising a member having alower air compartment, an intermediate liquid compartment, and asurmounting reservoir, there being a passageway between the reservoirand the intermediate compartment, and another passageway from theintermediate compartment to the air compartment, means for adjusting therate of flow from the intermediate compartment to the air compartmentand means for maintaining a uniform head of liquid in the intermediatecompartment.

6. A method of dispensing material, drop by drop, for medicationorfeeding purposes, comprising utilizing above the material a partialvacuum, which normally prevents the flow of material, modifying thevolume of air under said vacuum, by utilizing a drop-by-drop flow ofliquid other than the material in said partial vacuum,

mally to prevent the flow of whereby the material is caused to flowdrop-bydrop in substantially volumetric equality with the flow ofliquid.

7. An apparatus for dispensing material, comprising a container formaterial, a discharge conduit leading therefrom, means for maintaining apartial vacuum in the space above the material in the container, so asnormally to prevent the flow of material therefrom, a second containerin communication with the space in the first container and means formodifying the volume of air under said vacuum by admitting a liquid intothe second container, drop by drop, whereby the discharge of materialfrom the first container is substantially identical to the flow ofliquid into the second container.

8. An apparatus for dispensing liquid material,

drop by drop, for medication or feeding purposes, comprising incombination, a container for storing the material, a discharge conduitleading therefrom, means for maintaining an air-tight seal within thecontainer so as normaterial therefrom, an air-tight compartment incommunication with the container and means for flowing liquid drop bydrop into the compartment, whereby the discharge of material from thefirst container is substantially identical to the flow of liquid intothe second container.

9. An apparatus of the character described, comprising in combination acontainer for liquid material, adischarge conduit extending downwardlyinto the container and having the entrance thereto below the level ofliquid therein and having the discharge end thereof positioned below theentrance end,'a second container in communication with the firstcontainer above the level of the liquid therein, and means formaintaining a partial vacuum in thespace above the material in the firstcontainer so as normally to prevent the flow of material therefrom, andmeans for flowing liquid drop by drop into the second container wherebythe discharge of material from the first container is substantiallyidentical to the flow of liquid into the second container.

10. A device of the character described, comprising in combination, twocontainers, each having a stopper, one of the containers having liquidtherein and having a conduit extending through the stopper for conveyingmaterial therefrom, the entrance to the conduit being below the level ofthe liquid therein, and the other container having a conduit extendingthrough the stopper for introducing liquid thereinto, there being athird conduit having its ends projecting through the respective stoppermeans for maintaining a partial vacuum within the two containers so asnormally to prevent the flow of liquid from one of the containers andmeans for admitting a liquid into the other container drop by dropwhereby the discharge of liquid from the first container issubstantially identical to the flow of liquid into the other container.

HERMAN LEFFERT. EDWARD E. WOLDMAN.

